Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Authorities say the mystery flu-like illness that has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks might be malaria. They cite results from laboratory samples of infected people. The National Institute for Biomedical Research and the head of the World Health Organization both say most of the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian journalist has been handed a prison sentence for critical reports chronicling a sweeping crackdown on dissent launched by the country’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Minsk City Court convicted Volha Radzivonava on Tuesday on charges of “insulting the president” and “discrediting Belarus” and sentenced her to four
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit that accuses Nvidia of misleading investors about its past dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of volatile cryptocurrency to proceed. The court’s decision Wednesday comes the same week that China said it is investigating the the microchip company over suspected violations of
Continue ReadingBRUSSELS (AP) — European Union envoys have agreed a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The EU’s Hungarian presidency said Wednesday that the measures will target in particular a vast shadow fleet of ships that Moscow is exploiting to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and fuel. The sanctions are aimed
Continue ReadingAP Technology SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google on Wednesday unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence designed to tackle more of the work and thinking done by humans as it tries to stay on the technology’s cutting edge while also trying to fend off regulatory threats to its empire. The next generation of Google’s AI is
Continue ReadingCNN By Hanna Park, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — Improving weather conditions in Southern California on Wednesday raised officials’ hopes that firefighters could rein in the Franklin Fire, which forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents in the Malibu area, including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses. At
Continue ReadingBy Hanna Park, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — Improving weather conditions in Southern California on Wednesday raised officials’ hopes that firefighters could rein in the Franklin Fire, which forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents in the Malibu area, including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses. At its
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit that accuses Nvidia of misleading investors about its past dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of volatile cryptocurrency to proceed. The court’s decision Wednesday comes the same week that China said it is investigating the the microchip company over suspected violations of
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — George Joseph Kresge Jr., who was known to generations of TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, has died at age 89. Kreskin’s friend and former road manager, Ryan Galway, told The Associated Press that he died Tuesday at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey, where he
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — At least 26 enslaved people died on the Tennessee plantation of President Andrew Jackson before the end of the Civil War. Where they were laid to rest was thought to be lost to time. But officials at the historic site announced a discovery on Wednesday: They believe they have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia could launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as both sides wrestle for a battlefield advantage that will give them leverage in any negotiations to end the nearly 3-year war. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters in a briefing that an
Continue ReadingCNN By Tim Lister, Kareem Khadder and Nechirvan Mando, CNN (CNN) — A social media video surfaced Wednesday allegedly showing a warehouse in Syria stacked with captagon, an illicit drug that had transformed the country into a narco-state under former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. The large warehouse was reportedly located at the headquarters of a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — A spokesperson for France’s outgoing government says President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a political deal that would allow him to both name a new prime minister and “guarantee the stability of the country.” That follows the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier last week. Maud Bregeon, the spokesperson, said Macron
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SKOPJE. North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s Constitutional Court has postponed a ruling on a controversial law concerning the use of minority languages, triggering a protest and a new round of ethnic tensions in the tiny Balkan country. The 2019 law made Albanian a second official language in areas with a significant population
Continue ReadingAP Science Writer The Geminids are among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids. This year they peaked on Dec. 13 but will be visible until Dec. 21. The shower often produces meteors with a distinctly more yellow glow than other meteor showers that originate from comet debris. Under ideal viewing conditions, the
Continue ReadingWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says his government will protect major television stations in the country, like the U.S.-owned TVN, against hostile purchases, in a move aimed at protecting from any such attempts by Russia. Tusk stressed on Wednesday that the directive to be adopted next week is to safeguard against
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Myha’la is best known for playing a steely, manipulative investment banker on HBO’s “Industry,” so the thought of her breaking into song seems antithetical. Yet the graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious drama school says when she told friends and former acting teachers she landed a starring role in the
Continue Reading
The holidays are the busiest season of the year for the United States Postal Office. Since Thanksgiving, they’ve shipped out 5.5 billion letters and packages. To prepare for this time, they’ve hired 7,500 seasonal workers, and they’ve revamped the postal delivery and processing network. Plus, they’ve added new smart lockers to some of the post
Continue ReadingDrumroll, please. Seven people who became stars in 2024 have been named The Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of the Year. Aaron Pierre announced himself in the taut, suspenseful thriller “Rebel Ridge,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez frightened in the one-two punch of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and “Grotesquerie,” and GloRilla emerged as one of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Myha’la is best known for playing a steely, manipulative investment banker on HBO’s “Industry,” so the thought of her breaking into song seems antithetical. Yet the graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious drama school says when she told friends and former acting teachers she landed a starring role in the
Continue Reading